Gov. Walker today placed a rollback of provisions of SB 91 onto the call of his October special session.
For first-time offenders, who now don’t get any jail time for many second-time theft offenses, it will allow for five-year jail time. For Class C felonies, it would be up to one year.
“These are minor tweaks to SB 91,” said Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth, saying that unintended consequences include an increase in crime across the state.
In a press conference today, Walker, Lindemuth, and other public officials claimed that SB 91 has led to a crime spree. SB 54 returns the power to prosecutors, law enforcement, and judges, the Walker Administration said.
“For law enforcement and officers we’re seeing a lot more crime,” Lindemuth said, adding that the opioid crisis is stressing state resources. “SB 54 returns tools to prosecutors, law enforcement, and judges that was one of the unintended consequences.”
However, there was no explanation offered about how such “minor tweaks” would actually reduce crime in Alaska.
